Jen West: BootsnAll Photojournalist

Jen West
BootsnAll Photojournalist

Jen shakes things up whereever she goes.

I’ve been a traveler from birth. If Mom wanted me to stay in the living room, of course I wanted to crawl into the kitchen. I believe borders are meant to be crossed and new territories explored. My sense of adventure, high-spirited nature and blatant refusal to accept the words “no,” “can’t” and “shouldn’t” have motivated my quest for new experiences. If I haven’t done it, then of course I want to try it. And if it challenges our conventional views on gravity, all the better.

I am notorious for collecting new hobbies. I like to consider myself a jen-of-all-trades, and yes, I traffic in bad puns. At the moment, you might find me on the dance floor practicing my swing or my salsa, in the gym testing out an aikido hold, or 40 feet under water seeking out a reclusive octopus.

Jen gets a bird’s eye view of Interlaken, Switzerland with her pilot Dan.

I received my basic scuba certification last May, and I will be training for my advanced certification this fall. I plan to use this new knowledge to explore ship wrecks in the Great Barrier Reef as soon as I can afford a plane ticket. I developed a love for Australians while traveling in Europe two years ago. Everywhere I went, I met other traveling Aussies who were more than happy to watch a silly American girl try to keep up with them at the bars. I think I held my own in that arena, but who are we kidding? I’d have to have a hollow leg to drink any of these sturdy young chaps under the table! But those are stories for another camp fire.

Writing is both a hobby and a career choice for me, because I can think of no better way to make a living than to go out into the world, have fun, learn things and then write about the experience. However, this fall my treks out into the world will as far as my own hometown. As the new Portland Travel Guide intern, I bring an interesting perspective to the City of Roses; I have been both a native and a visitor of the city. I often think of Portland as my lighthouse. I may not stay for long periods of time, but Portland is always the place I come back to.

Although Jen may not bite the dust when she lands, she will eat a bug. Meat group!

Although I was born here almost 24 years ago, I spent most of my childhood years from the age of 6 in the Deep South. My family and I lived for a year near the Dallas metropolis before moving to the small, picturesque town of Pulaski, Tennessee, where you could still buy a Coke for a nickel. Once my family had their fill of southern hospitality, we moved back to Oregon – or “God’s country” as my grandmother puts it. But Oregon couldn’t keep me within her borders for long, and in 2000, I left my family behind to study in Lyon, France for 10 months.

Now I’m back in the States with one foot in Portland and the other in Eugene as I complete my journalism degree at the University of Oregon. In three months… who knows? I could be trekking with gorillas in Uganda, diving with sharks in Australia or crossing the street in Portland to get my mail. Life’s full of surprises.

Click on her name below for links to all of Jen’s BootsnAll articles. Also feel free to email Jen at jenwestpdx@yahoo.com.

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